Kingdom Come
by Cheezel1993
Summary: The Realm has always been a land of peace. One assassination attempt is going to change this though. The heroes of this tale will need to do everything they can to save the life of one, and prevent the deaths of hundreds more. (I really hate doing summaries sorry)
1. Chapter 1

**(A/N) Okay, so here's my new story. I've been wanting to do this one for a while now and I hope you guys enjoy it. Now let's just get that disclaimer out of the way and get right into it shall we.**

**I obviously don't own Sonic the Hedgehog, that belongs to SEGA**

**OC's belong to their rightful owners (They'll be turning up in later chapters)**

**Now then, I give you...**

_Kingdom Come_

Mobotropolis, quite possibly the most well known kingdom throughout the entire realm. The Acorn family had ruled over the kingdom for decades, bringing peace to the land for just as many years as they had been in power. Mobotropolis stood as a symbol of peace, setting an example to the other kingdoms on Mobius. The Acorn family had always fought for peace rather than power. To some, it made them seem weak. These beliefs had always been quickly buried, along with the dead of those foolish enough to try and take the kingdom for themselves. This peace had kept the relationship between the many kingdoms a happy one. However, in the coming days, they would come realize that not everyone has been quite so content with the way things are.

This tale begins in the very castle of Mobotropolis. King Maximilian Acorns daughter, Sally Acorn, had now finally awoken, a couple of hours after the sun had risen. She slipped into her red morning robe before leaving her bedroom, walking down the hall towards the family dining room. In the said room, she found her father sitting at the head of the table; he appeared to be discussing something with one of the many castle servants. Max let out a snort and began to laugh heartily, he gave the servant a friendly slap on the shoulder as he calmed down.

"Very funny Jacob, very funny," he said, still chuckling slightly. "Ah good morning Sally, how did you sleep?" He asked when he noticed his daughter enter the room.

"Quite well thank you father," she replied with a smile, sitting down at the table. The servant, Jacob, placed a bowl of fruit salad in front of her. She thanked him before picking up a fork to begin eating. "So what do you have planned today?" She asked her father.

"I was wondering if you had forgotten, seems as though you have," Max chuckled, causing his daughter to raise an eyebrow. "Queen Aleena is visiting with her sons and daughter today, we will be meeting her at the gates and escorting her to the castle," he explained.

"Ah, I forgot that was today," Sally chuckled, somewhat embarrassed.

"I can see that."

"When will they be arriving again?"

"Later on this morning, we still have a couple of hours to prepare before they arrive."

"It will be good to see them all again. It's been quite some time since I last spoke with Sonic, we've got a lot of catching up to do," Sally said happily.

"It's nice to see you two share such a strong friendship. Mind you, you have known one another since you were two years old. Perhaps I should find that painting we had done of the two of you together," Max chuckled.

"Father please," Sally groaned.

"Very well, I'll stop teasing you," he laughed, standing up from his seat. "I need to go speak with your mother and then find your brother," he explained. "If he's been down at that brothel again, I swear..." Sally heard him growl under his breath as he left the room.

Sally finished her breakfast and made her way back to her bedroom to prepare for the arrival of the hedgehog family. She gave her hair a quick brush before going through her wardrobe to find a dress to wear. Sally never really cared much for the beautiful dresses she owned, but to keep her father happy she still wore them to certain events. A visit from the rulers of another kingdom being one of such events. She found herself a simple blue dress, as simple as it was it would still manage to catch a few eyes. Letting out a sigh, she left her room and began walking to the main entrance to the castle. She was going to have to find something to do to kill a few hours, a walk through the castle gardens was one of the ways she had in mind. Upon reaching the main entrance, she found two of the kingdoms knights who were loyal to her father. Sir Lancelot and Sir Gawain, or Shadow and Knuckles as she had come to know the two.

"Hello," she greeted, approaching the two.

"Princess," the two knights replied. "How has your day been thus far?" Knuckles added.

"Slow to say the least, I am reuniting with one of my oldest friends today though," she replied with a smile.

"Ah yes, Queen Aleena and her children are visiting today," Shadow said. "Prince Sonic is the one you speak of as a friend, is he not?"

"Yes, like I said, he is my oldest and closest friend."

"Well princess, I hope everything goes well for you today," Knuckles said to her. "Shadow and I had best be getting along now, we are scheduled to help the Captain of the guard set the guards patrols for the visit."

"Yes, we will speak to you again another time Princess," Shadow agreed.

"Ok, I'll let you two go then," Sally replied. "And would you please stop calling me Princess," she added as they were about to leave. "You know me well enough to address me by name."

"Of course, goodbye for now Sally," Shadow replied.

Sally walked out the main entrance after them and branched off to head towards the garden. She walked along the grass and let her arm stretch out, brushing her hand along the heads of the flowers. She stopped to pick a few of them, the ones in the vase in her bedroom had wilted and died and needed replacing. Out of nowhere, she heard what sounded like a hushed whisper.

"Psst," Sally heard again, she stopped to look around herself but found nothing.

She began walking again only to hear the whisper once more, this time when she stopped she felt a hand wrap around her wrist and pull her behind a corner. Sally let out a yelp from the sudden action, her state of panic was quickly put to rest when she heard some chuckling from a very familiar voice. She pulled her hand from the others grip and turned to face them.

"Sonic!" She said, scolding the azure hedgehog. "Why do you always have to do something like that?"

"It was just a bit of fun Sally, no need to get worked up," Sonic laughed.

Sally let out a groan as she shook her head. "What are you even doing here? I didn't think you and your family were arriving until later this morning."

"I rode ahead so I could see my best friend before everyone else," Sonic explained with a grin. "And now that that's done, I should probably return to them. I'll see you again later, we'll have plenty of time talk then."

"Why do you always have to make things difficult?"

"Because that's just the way I am," Sonic laughed. He turned around and began to scale the wall, keeping out of sight of the castle guards.

"That hedgehog," Sally sighed with a laugh.

It was a couple of hours later that Sally found herself waiting at the city gates with her father, mother and brother. Shadow and Knuckles were also there as the a royal families escort and guard. It seems she had been the only one to see Sonic earlier, it was probably a good thing though. Even though Sonics mother may not have had a problem with it, Max probably wouldn't have felt the same way. He could be rather over protective of his only daughter at times, this was something that would constantly get on Sally's nerves. She wasn't even able to go for a simple stroll through the city without being escorted by at least two of the castle guards. Sally pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind when two of Aleena's guards, riding on horseback, rode through the gates. The royal chariot followed shortly after, accompanied by several more guards either on foot or horseback. Sonic and his brother Manic were also riding horses behind the chariot. It came to a stop and a guard opened the door, Queen Aleena and her daughter Sonia stepped out. Aleena and her children immediately approached the Acorn Family.

"It is a pleasure to see you all once again," Aleena spoke, a smile on her face.

"As it is you," Max replied. "Your trip here went well I hope."

"Yes, everything went better than we could have hoped. Although I believe Sonic and Manic were hoping things would be a little more, as they would put it, exciting."

"They're young, I remember being exactly like them," Max chuckled.

"As do I," Max's wife Alicia commented. "My father hated you because of it," she added with a light chuckle.

"Alicia, it has been too long," Aleena said, pulling the Queen into a friendly hug.

"It has, we have plenty of time to speak together now though. I look forward to hearing how your kingdom has been," Alicia replied.

"Shall we continue on to the castle your highness?" Shadow asked Max.

"Yes, please lead the way," Max replied.

With the Shadow at the front of the group and Knuckles at the rear, the two royal families began to make their way towards the Acorn Castle.

"Hello again Princess," Sonic greeted as he walked up beside Sally.

"Ugh, please Sonic," Sally sighed. "You of all people should know I don't like being addressed by my title."

"I know, but it's fun to see you react," Sonic chuckled.

Sally let out a groan and began mumbling something indistinctive. Out of nowhere, an arrow shot through the air. Sonic grabbed Sally and pulled her back just in time. The arrow flew past her and embedded itself into a nearby wooden barrel.

"ASSASSINS!" Knuckles roared, running into place in front of the royals; facing the direction where the arrow had come from.

Another arrow was let loose in their direction. Shadow drew his sword and used it to swipe the arrow clean out of the air. Three figures dropped to the ground from some nearby rooftops. They all wore black hooded cloaks, shielding their faces from view. Each carried a sword as they slowly approached the royals and the knights.

"You need to leave," Knuckles said to the royals as he drew his battle axe from his back. "We'll take care of these three."

Max, Elias; Sonic and Manic each drew a sword from their sheaves before they made a quick exit away from the scene. One of three assassins went to chase after them only for Shadow to block his path, sword drawn and ready for a fight. He took a swing at the black hedgehog, the attack found itself deflected with ease. Shadow took a swipe himself and the assassin jumped back to avoid any injury. The hedgehog knight took the initiative and ran ahead, swinging his blade at his opponents head. It appeared the would be assassin wasn't one of great skill. As Shadows sword came towards him he leant back out of the way, keeping his sword held in front of himself. Shadows blade connected with his own, he found his sword being knocked clean out of his hands. Before he had time to react, a Shadow ran straight through. The sword went through his chest and straight through out to his back. With one heavy yank, Shadow removed his sword and the assassins body fell to the ground.

Throughout Shadows little session, Knuckles had been busy taking on the other two attackers. He ducked underneath a wild swing and spun himself around, using his leg to sweep one of the assassins off of their. He stood back up and raised his axe high above his head, bringing it down on his opponents chest with unbelievable force. The assassin was dead the moment axes blade touched his chest. With the second assassin dispatched, it was now two against one.

"If you give up now, we might let you live," Shadow said to him.

"If you let me live, you'll want me to tell you who hired us," the assassin replied, his voice sounded somewhat panicked.

"Would you rather die right here," Knuckles said to him.

"If they were to find out I told you about them, I'd be better off being dead."

He raised his sword to throat, alarming both Shadow and Knuckles.

"NO!" Shadow shouted, running towards him.

It was to late though. In one quick motion, the assassin slit his own throat from ear to ear. He fell to the ground as the blood pumped out of the wound, creating a rapidly growing deep red pool on the ground below.

"Dammit," Shadow growled, staring down at the body laid out before him.

"Well that's not something you see every day," Knuckles noted. "Not often an assassin takes their own life. The group who hired them must be some very nasty people."

"I'll agree to that," Shadow replied.

Up the road, Knuckles spotted one of the castle messengers running towards them. Going by the pace that he ran at, it appeared he had some very important news to deliver. He finally made it to the two knights and hunched over with his hands in his knees, panting and gasping for air as he tried to speak at the same time.

"Get yourself together," Knuckles said to him. "Speak when you've regained your breath."

"Ok...I'm good," the messenger puffed. "You need to get to the castle immediately. The Queen's been injured, the king wants you there in case there's another attack."

Knuckles and Shadows eyes both widened as they looked across at one another. Without saying another word, the two knights raced off towards the Castle.

Upon reaching the castle, a Knuckles and Shadow quickly found everyone in state of panic. Guards ran to their posts to set up a strong defense around the palace, servants ran from room to room as they hurriedly went about whatever task they had been assigned. One particular servant quickly approached the two knights now standing at the front entrance of the castle.

"Ah yes, come with me," she said to them. "Quickly now, the king asked to see you the moment you arrive."

They had to jog to keep up with her as she very nearly ran to their destination. They stopped in front of a door that led into the King and Queens bed chambers. The servant knocked on the door before opening it up, motioning with her hand for the knights to enter. Shadow and Knuckles walked into the room and the servant closed the door behind them. In the room they found Queen Alicia tucked into the bed, completely unconscious; those of her own family and the hedgehog family surrounding her bedside. The castle healer was also there, kneeling beside the bed as he tended to the Queen. The healer wasn't one of magic, rather one of apothecary methods. It seemed he was summing up the Queens current situation before he decided upon the best form of treatment. The Queen had a white bandage wrapped around her left upper arm, a fresh red splotch stained the fabric.

"What happened?" Shadow asked as he and Knuckles approached the bed.

"We were jumped by two more assassins as we made our way back to castle," Max growled. "I managed to deal with both of the bastards, but not before one of them managed to sink his knife into my wife's arm. We think the blade was poisoned."

"Shit," Shadow heard Knuckles mutter under his breath.

"I'm afraid this appears to be much graver than a simple poisoning," the healer explained grimly.

"What do you mean it's graver than poisoning?" Elias asked, worry evident in his voice. "What could possibly be worse?"

The healer let out a sigh before he began speaking again. "This blade..." he began, holding the said knife in his hands. It's hilt was silver, it's blade however; was a color of pure darkness. "This blade has been cursed, it's corruption runs through your Queens veins as we speak."

"But you can fix this? Can't you?" Sally asked, her body shaking slightly with fear.

"I'm afraid this is far beyond my expertise. Unless you can find someone who knows a great deal about curses and spells, you may very well lose your Queen."

There was silence throughout the room for several minutes. No one knew what to say, it was all just to frightening. Alicia was loved, not just within Mobotropolis, but throughout the land. Her death would be huge blow to the realm.

"Thank you for your help," Max finally spoke to healer, sadness dripping in his tone.

"Anything for you my King," the healer replied before leaving the room.

Max walked over to one side of the room and leant over, resting his hands atop a set of drawers in front of. In a moment of anger, he slammed his fists down on one end of the drawer and swept them across; knocking all the items on top of the drawer down onto the ground. Aleena approached him from behind and rested one of her hands on his shoulder, hoping to comfort him.

"We will find a way," she said softly.

"What is there for us to find?" Max replied, his voice starting to crack. "There's not a Mage powerful enough to break a curse, we both know that."

"What about the Sorcerer?" Sonic asked.

"The Sorcerer is a myth, he doesn't exist," Max replied bitterly.

"But shouldn't we at least-" Sonic started.

"ENOUGH!" Max shouted as he turned to face the hedgehog. "I will not waste time I could spend trying save my wife chasing after a fairy tale!"

"Max! Calm yourself!" Aleena shot at him. "You're upset, I understand that. But do not take your frustration out on my son."

"Of course, I apologize," he sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. "I'm going to visit the mages in the city, see if they know anything that may help. You should all get some rest."

"I'll come with," Aleena stated. "You need all the support you can get."

"Very well," Max agreed as he turned to his two knights. "Shadow, I'd like you to come along with us," he explained, receiving a simple nod from the black hedgehog. "Knuckles, I want you to guard this room. No one gets in without first having my permission."

"Alright then," the echidna sighed. "Why do I always get guard duty?" He muttered to himself as the others left the room.

Sally made her way down the hall to her room, fighting back tears as she went. Sonic jogged up to her just as she made it to the door to her room.

"Hey Sal," Sonic said sadly. "Do you want to talk?"

"I'd rather not right at this moment, thank you for asking though. I think I just need some time to myself," she replied.

"Alright then, I'm here if you need me."

Sally gave him a nod and a sad smile before opening the door and walking into her room. She closed the door and leant her back up against it, sliding down until she came into a sitting position. She brought her knees up and pressed her face into them, sobbing heavily as she sat in place. Throughout the rest of the day, Sally began to put a plan together. She remembered a Sonic mentioning someone called the Sorcerer. Her father may have labeled him as a fairy tale, but she was willing to take the risk to find him if it meant saving her mothers life; even if it meant she was risking her own.

It was now approximately eleven o clock at night, just about everyone in the castle had retired for the night. Sally was pretty sure her father would still be awake, searching aggressively for a cure to the curse laid upon his wife. Sally opened up her wardrobe and pulled out a few articles of clothing. A black shirt of sorts that covered her torso and left her arms exposed. Some blue pants that came down to her knees and a pair of simple blue boots, perfect for walking on rough terrain. The last two articles of clothing she grabbed were a blue vest made of some sort of new material called denim, she didn't know what this denim was but she had liked the look of the vest, and lastly a red hooded cloak that would help hide her identity. Sally couldn't help but chuckle as she gazed over the red cloak, remembering the stories her father used to tell about brave heroines that would wear a red cloak. She put on all of her clothing and went to exit the room, only for one of the castle servants to enter before she had chance.

"Princess Sally? What are you doing?" The girl asked, somewhat alarmed.

"I have to go, we all know there isn't a Mage strong enough to break the curse that's infecting my mother," Sally replied.

"Didn't your father say the Sorcerer was a myth?" She obviously knew what Sally had in mind

"This is the only chance we have and I'm taking it, please don't try to stop me."

The servant simply stared a her for short while before replying. "Wait here."

"What are you doing?"

"Just trust me, I won't be long."

The servant girl left the room and re-entered a short while later, in her hands she carried something wrapped up in a thick brown cloth. She held out towards Sally who took the item and carefully unwrapped it. In the cloth was the cursed blade that had injured her mother.

"If you find the Sorcerer and show him the blade that inflicted the curse, he might be able to find a cure," the girl explained.

"Thank you," Sally replied as she wrapped the blade back up again, stuffing it into the pocket within her cloak.

"One more thing," the girl added as she reached into her pocket. She pulled out a silver necklace, it had a clear diamond attached to it. "Take this with you," she said, holding the necklace out to Sally.

"What is it?" Sally asked, taking the offered jewelry.

"It belonged to my great grandmother. It's said that as you get closer to the Sorcerer, the diamond will glow a brighter blue. It only works if you have the intentions of a pure heart as your reason to find him."

"Does it really work?" Sally asked as she slipped the necklace around her neck.

"I honestly don't know. But if it does, I'd say trying to save the life of your mother is the intention of a pure heart."

"Thank you," Sally said, pulling the girl into a light hug.

"Just try to save her."

Sally left her room and shortly found herself on the streets of Mobotropolis. No sooner after that did she find herself on the outskirts of the kingdom itself, heading straight towards the forest. For whatever reason, Sally felt like she knew exactly where she needed to go.

"Maybe this thing does work," she muttered, looking down at the diamond attached to the chain around her neck. She took in one deep breath before slowly exhaling. "Here we go," she stated, pulling the hood to her cloak up over her head.

**(A/N) So there's the first chapter, what did everyone think?**

**Please leave a review if you did enjoy this, a little feedback is always nice. Up to you really though.**

**Anywho, I might see you next chapter.**

**Catchya :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**(A/N) Well here you go, second chapter. Thank you to everyone who favorited, followed and reviewed this. I wasn't sure how this would go down, it's nice to know there's a few people who've enjoyed it so far. Now then, onwards to the story.**

* * *

The door to Sally's room was thrown open as Maximilian rushed inside. He moved around the room in wasted hope that his daughter may still be there. Finding no trace of her, Max sat down on her bed in complete shock. He couldn't believe it, she was really gone. When he'd first received word that Sally had left the kingdom, he had originally thought it was someone's idea of a cruel joke. To his dismay however, the story was true. Max heard footsteps approaching the room from down the hallway, it was quickly revealed the footsteps belonged to Shadow as the hedgehog entered the room. He simply stood in the doorway and stared at the King.

"She's really gone," Max said glumly.

Shadow didn't reply, he just continued to watch. Max stood up and walked over to him.

"I want you to find her and bring her home," he stated.

"If I could I would, but I'm no tracker my King. I don't have skills we'd need to find her," Shadow replied.

"Then we'll find someone who does have the necessary skills, and then you will accompany them."

"I'll go speak with Sir Gawain. He knows a few hunters around the kingdom, if they can't do it then maybe they'll know someone who can."

"Very good, come see me once you've completed your task," Max replied, walking past Shadow and leaving. It was likely he was going to check on his wife once again.

Shadow left Sally's room and closed the door behind himself. If he knew Knuckles, then the echidna was probably already searching for anyone who could help find the Princess. He exited the castle and shortly found himself on the streets of the city of Mobotropolis.

It was a little bit after noon by the time he finally managed to find Knuckles, the echidna was just finishing up a conversation with three men. Knuckles caught sight of Shadow, he said his goodbyes to the small group before approaching his fellow knight.

"Who were they?" Shadow asked.

"Hunters," Knuckles replied. "I asked a few of them if they could track where the Princess went. They didn't get far before they lost her trail."

"Is there anyone else we can look into?"

"Those three I was speaking to just now are the best I know. There's no other trackers we can look in to."

A feeling of defeat began to wash over the two knights, a feeling they were not at all used to or comfortable with.

"Actually, there might be one last person we can talk to," Knuckles said, remembering something he'd heard that very morning.

"I'm all ears," Shadow replied.

"I can tell you, but you're probably not going to like it," Knuckles cautioned.

"Just tell me already, I don't see any other options," Shadow nearly growled.

"Alright then," Knuckles sighed. "I was talking to a friend of mine in the guard this morning. Apparently, The Wolf, arrived in the city last night."

"The Wolf? I don't think the King will be very eager to hire his services."

"I don't see any other choice here, we either hire him or hope we can find someone else."

"I'll go talk to Maximilian, see how he feels about your suggestion," Shadow sighed. "You keep searching for someone else, just in case."

"Sounds good, I'll hear from you later," Knuckles replied before walking off.

Shadow turned around and started walking back towards the castle.

"Well Max, let's see how you react to the news," Shadow muttered to himself.

"No! Not a chance in hell!" Max shouted. "I will not have that brute endangering the life of my daughter!"

It would seem that King Maximilian wasn't very interested in hiring The Wolf to help track down his daughter. The Wolf had made a name for himself for being able to track down or find just about any person in almost any situation. With this fame though, many rumors had surfaced. Wether they be about his methods or his lifestyle.

"He may very well be one of the few people who can truly help us here," Shadow explained.

"But he is not a man we can trust," Max countered. "Have you not heard the stories people speak of him, they say he once murdered five innocent people just to get to one guilty man."

"They also say he's called The Wolf because of a night during a full moon, he shifts into a horrible wolf shaped monster and prowls the land devouring the souls of anyone he comes across," Shadow explained, a deadpanned expression on his face.

Their was silence between the two of them as Max mulled over his choices. He could try to hire The Wolf, a man he didn't know and trusted even less, and hoped everything worked out. Or he could continue trying to find someone skilled enough to fill the job, an option that was quickly crumbling before him.

"Fine then, speak with him and see if we can come to an arrangement," Max finally said. "But if he does take the job and something happens to my daughter, I'm holding you responsible."

"Very well," Shadow replied. "I'll find Sir Gawain and we'll speak to him together. I trust this man just as much as you do my King, but at the moment he's our best possibility."

Max turned and walked away, not speaking another word to the knight. With everything that was happening, it was understandable as to why the King wasn't feeling very sociable. Shadow once again left the castle and began searching for Knuckles. He found the Echidna standing out side one of the taverns throughout the city, it appeared as though he was waiting for Shadow.

"So, how did your talk go?" Knuckles asked him.

"He wasn't very eager at first, but once I explained it was our best option he ended up coming around," Shadow replied.

"So we need to find The Wolf now do we?"

"Yes, we do. Any ideas on where he might be?"

Knuckles nodded his head towards the tavern they were currently standing out front of before speaking. "Already found him. I couldn't find anyone else that could help us, I figured I'd spend my time doing something useful instead."

Shadow gave him a simple nod and the two of them walked into the tavern. Business seemed to be relatively quite within the building at the moment, things were bound to pick up once the sun set for the day though.

"Over there," Knuckles said, pointing towards a table in the corner of the room.

Two people were seated at the said table. One of them was a man. He wore what appeared to be a set of lightweight leather armor. The pitch black color of it gave it an almost intimidating look. It seemed the armor also had a hood attached to the back of its neck. The other person at the table was a woman, a grey lynx to be precise. She giggled at something the man said as Shadow and Knuckles approached the table. The lynx noticed the two knights approaching and started carefully watching the two.

"We need to speak with this man," Shadow said to her once they made it to the table.

The lynx rolled her eyes before standing up and walking over the bar. Shadow took her seat while Knuckles pulled over another chair to sit down. The man watched the two knights with an amused smirk on his face.

"You The Wolf?" Shadow said to him.

"I don't know, do I look like a wolf to you," the man replied.

The man was far from being a wolf, he wasn't even a Mobian. He was actually a human. He had Caucasian skin and dirty blonde hair. His hair was averagely long, the back of it growing down to the back of his neck. An interesting feature were his eyes, his left was blue while his right was red. Lastly there was a scar gracing his face, it appeared as though someone had gotten a lucky swipe in at some point in time and sliced his left cheek wide open.

"Very funny," Knuckles said sourly. "We know who you are and we've come to talk to you."

"Well then," the man said, leaning back into his chair. "Fill my mug for me and we can start talking," he added, pushing his tankard towards the knights.

Knuckles let out an annoyed growl before picking up the mug and walking towards the bar.

"We have a job for you, one that you're best suited for," Shadow explained.

"You're going to have to be a little more specific than that," came the chuckled reply.

"We need you to help us track someone, this mission comes from the King himself."

"So old Max wants me to find his daughter for him now does he?" The man laughed.

"How do you know it's his daughter he wants us to find?" Knuckles asked, setting the tankard down on the table and sitting back down again.

"You can learn a lot things if you know where to look," The Wolf said, taking a long drink from his mug. "So, what sort of payment are we looking at?" He asked as he sat the now empty tankard back down the table.

"Gold or jewels most likely," Shadow replied.

The Wolf mulled it over for a moment before replying. "Alright then, we'll set out in a few hours if that works for you."

"A few hours? Why not right now?" Knuckles asked.

"I need to restock on some supplies. I also have someone waiting to see me," the man replied, standing up from his seat.

He left the table and walked across the room to a set of stairs. The grey lynx from earlier was standing there waiting for him, a smile on her face. She took his hand and led him up the stairs to one of the rooms available on the top floor. Shadow and Knuckles both watched as he walked up the stairs with the woman, an unimpressed look on both of their faces.

"Is she a whore?" Knuckles asked.

"No, she's one of the barmaids who work here," Shadow replied, standing up and walking towards the door to leave the tavern.

It was two o clock in the afternoon by the time they were all ready to leave. Shadow had spoken with Maximilian after their discussion with The Wolf. The King still wasn't very happy that they were hiring him to help with the search. As Shadow had explained to him though, they didn't really have any other options. Shadow and Knuckles both had their weapons in the sheaves on their hip and back respectively, they were both now wearing their helmets as well though. As for The Wolf, he currently had a shield on his back and a sword on his hip. A bow and a quiver of arrows was also being secured on his horse above its saddlebags. He was also wearing some black leather gloves. The top of the gloves were covered in metal, the metal was shaped in a pattern that almost looked like dragon scales. They finished strapping the saddles onto their horses and jumped on, they were now fully prepared to leave. The three of the hunters from earlier were also with them, they were going to lead the others to the point where they lost Sally's trail. They were all just about to leave when the sound of galloping hooves caught their attention. Turning towards the noise, they found Sonic riding his horse up to them.

"You're not going anywhere without me," he stated.

"Great, more royalty," Wolf muttered under his breath.

"I think it would be best if you stay with your family Prince," Knuckles said to him.

"For all my life Sally has been my greatest friend, if you think I'm staying here while she's out there then you've got another thing coming."

Knuckles and Shadow both looked across at one another. Bringing a member of royalty with them could be a mistake, but if anything went wrong; having an extra sword would certainly come in handy.

"Alright then," Shadow said to him. "But you make sure you pull your own weight, and if you fall behind then you stay behind."

"Sounds fair to me," Sonic replied. "Let's get going shall we."

Knuckles rode up beside Wolf as they left the castle gates, there was something he really wanted to ask him.

"So what's your actual name?" Knuckles asked. "Calling you The Wolf all the time is going to get annoying very quickly."

The Wolf let out an amused chuckle before turning his head to the echidna to reply. "My name's Connor Jenkins."

It had been an hour ride on horseback for the group, they had gone a short way through the forest before one of the hunters stopped in front of them.

"This is as far as we got before we lost the trail," he explained.

"Sally is a smart girl," Shadow explained. "She's covering her tracks because she doesn't want to be found."

"And this is where you come in," Knuckles added, turning to Connor.

Connor lifted one of his legs over his horse and let himself drop off. He started walking around the surrounding area, studying each and every spot of the forest with care. He crouched down a started searching over the dirt, scanning over some nearby bushes afterwards.

"She went this way," Connor finally stated, pointing off in the said direction.

"How can you tell?" Sonic asked.

"Do you want a lesson in tracking or do you want to find the Princess," came the reply.

Sonic let out a sigh, looking over at Shadow. The knight glared at him, almost as if he was telling the Prince to keep quiet.

"We'll need to go by foot from here," Connor continued. "It'll be to difficult follow the trail on horseback, especially if she's been covering her tracks."

"Very well then," Knuckles answered. "We'll grab our packs and follow you."

"We'll take your horses back to Mobotropolis," one of the hunters explained. "We'll make sure yours is taken care of," he added as he looked at Connor, receiving a nod in response.

With all the needed supplies removed from the horses, the hunters left for Mobotropolis; the steeds being led away behind them. Connor checked the tracks again to get a better sense of direction, leading the group along the trail shortly after.

"We've got plenty of ground to cover and not much daylight left," he stated. "So don't expect me to wait if you start falling behind."

"Why does it sound like that was directed at me," Sonic muttered to himself.

* * *

Further within the depths of the forest, Sally Acorn continued to make her way towards her desired goal. She had absolutely no idea as to where she was going. Yet for some reason, she felt like she knew exactly where she was going. A sudden jerk from her cloak brought her walking to a halt. Sally turned around to find the bottom of her cloak snagged between two tree roots sticking out of the ground.

"Oh, come on," she groaned.

Wrapping her hands around a bunch of the cloak, she started attempting to yank the fabric free from the roots. Off to her right, a deep throaty growl began emanating from behind the trees. Sally slowly turned her head in the direction where the growl had come from, a shiver working its way down her spine. A short distance away from her, a wild wolf stalked its way out from between two trees. Its growl became louder as three more wolves walked out on either side of it. Keeping her eyes on the four animals, Sally began tugging the fabric harder and more frequently. The moment the cloak came free, she was out of there. Her legs pushed along the ground at an increasing pace as she ran for her life, her arms pumping up and down on either side of her. She could hear the wolves slowly closing the gap behind her, snapping at the air and barking the whole way. One of the beasts leaped at her, missing its mark by mere centimeters. It rolled along the ground a couple of times, extending the gap again as it fell back with the rest of the pack. Sally turned her head to see how far behind her the wolves now were, her heart skipping a beat when she turned her attention back to what was in front of her.

She nearly tripped over herself as she came to a hard and sudden stop. Before her was a raging, torrential river. With the speed at which the water was running, it was clear it would be difficult for even the best of swimmers to make it across. To make matters worse, the water running downstream found its way into a sudden drop off the cliff; creating a frightening waterfall. With the wolves behind her closing the distance between them, Sally saw no other option. She turned around to take a few steps away before turning again to face the river once more. The wolves could now be heard off in the distance, their barking and howling growing louder with every passing moment. Sally closed her eyes and took in one deep breath, slowly letting it out after she'd inhaled as much oxygen as she could. Her eyes snapped open and she ran straight for the river, a light jog quickly increasing into a full on sprint. She reached the river bank and leapt straight into the air, trying to gain as much distance over the water towards the other bank as she could.

The sounds of paws skidding through the dirt could be heard behind her, the wolves having to come to a sudden stop to avoid falling into the river. Sally didn't even make it half way across the river before she found herself plummeting into the raging waters below, the current took hold almost instantaneously. The Princess was being dragged towards the waterfall at a terrifyingly fast pace. A rock sticking up out of the water caught her eye and she was quick to get her arms wrapped around it. Even with a moment of relief from the stone, Sally was still fighting a losing battle against the river. Panic truly sank in when her arms slipped off the rock, once again finding herself being dragged towards watery drop.

"No no no!" Sally cried, trying to find absolutely anything she could that would help her win this fight.

In the end, there was nothing that could help. The elements had won against her. All Sally could do when she was sent plummeting over the waterfall, was scream for her life.

* * *

Further away in an entirely different forest, three men found themselves sprinting past the trees as they ran for their lives.

"Who the hell is this guy?!" One of them shouted to his friend.

"I don't know!" The other replied.

An arrow came flying through the trees and pierced through the back of the head if the third man, he fell to the ground with arrow head sticking out of his forehead.

"Shit!" One of the remaining two cried out.

Another arrow was sent soaring, this time embedding itself into the back of one of the men. He fell to the ground and quickly tried to stand back up again, only managing to get onto his hands and knees. Their assailant jumped over the man, shooting an arrow into his skull as he passed over him. The final runner found himself breaking out into a clearing. Once he'd made it to the center of the clearing, he spun around and drew his sword at the same time.

"Well come on you bastard!" He shouted, shaking with fear. "Show yourself!"

Yet another arrow came flying out from the trees. The bolt managed to embed itself straight through the mans wrist, the reaction was instant. The sword fell from his hands as he dropped to his knees, screaming in agony. Out from the trees came the one he'd been running from. His assailant was a red hedgehog with long spiky hair, a bow held in his left hand and quiver of arrows on his back. He wore brown pants and grey boots, his pants had several metal plates for armoring. Along his arms were a couple more light metal plates to cover sections of his flesh. A simple brown leather vest covered his torso. On his right hand was a leather glove, most likely to help with drawing the string of his bow. Finally over his head was a grey hood. The hedgehog approached the man and drew another arrow from his quiver.

"Who are you?" The man asked.

"The last person you'll ever see," the hedgehog replied.

He drew the arrow in his bow before letting it loose, hitting the man in the chest at point blank range. The man fell straight onto his back, a pool of blood slowly forming underneath him. A slow clapping sounded from behind the hedgehog, he spun around with an arrow drawn prepared for another fight. What the hedgehog found was a red female fox. The vixen wore a simple set of black leather armor that covered most of her body. Her clapping came to a stop and she simply smirked at the hedgehog.

"Very impressive, very impressive indeed," she chuckled. "A friend of mine told me you were one of the best. I didn't believe them at first, but now."

"Who are you?" The hedgehog asked.

"That's not important, what is important is that I have a job for you."

The hedgehog lowered his bow before replying. "What's the job?"

"We received a letter from our spies some time ago, and now there's someone we'd like you to pick up for us; a girl. Anyone with her is expendable of course, but the girl must be brought to us alive."

"Very well then, who's the girl?"

"Princess Sally Acorn."

The fox noticed a smirk forming under the hedgehogs hood.

"I'll take the job," he stated.

* * *

**(A/N) So what did you all think? I had a lot of fun writing that bit with Sally, so I hope you all enjoyed it :)**

**On a side note, when I write that an animal's wild; I mean that their not Mobian. Mobian's are anthropomorphic, wild animals aren't. Just in case there's any confusion there.**

**The Wolf/Connor Jenkins belongs to me**

**Red Hedgehog (You'll find his name out later if you haven't read my other stories) belongs to sonicepilougelover**

**Until the next chapter**

**Catchya :)**


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